Israeli Glass 2011

The same morning that I visited the wonderful 'A Land and It's Dolls' exhibition at Tel Aviv's Eretz Israel Museum, I also dropped by 'Israeli Glass 2011'. The exhibition, hailed as "one of the most exciting events on the Tel Aviv art scene this year" (Israel Inside Out), displays approximately 100 works of glass created over the last four years.

Professional glass artists, as well as pieces created by those who have only recently completed their schooling, are showing their work. Several of the artists participating in the exhibition have in fact crossed over from other fields, such as painting, sculpting, and graphic design.

A  large range of glass making and glass decorative processes are illustrated in various ways, highlighting some of the inventive and imaginative ways the material is used. I am by no means an expert in the field of glass but, from reading a little further, I learnt that some of the 66 exhibiting artists concentrated on mastering traditional skills and standard materials, whilst others pushed the boundaries of what is possible with glass, exploring new methods of working with the material. Blowing, fusing, kiln casting and lamp working has been employed, as well as cold processes such as cutting, grinding, engraving, acid-etching, polishing and sandblasting.

Minute dancers, delicate beads, a glass Sabbath table packed with glass plates, candlesticks and plaited challah breads were all on display. My personal favourites were the truly incredible 'splash' (my title), above, and the chunky green and white birds sitting on a wooden shelf (second from top).
'Israeli Glass 2011' runs until November 15. If you are in Israel, I strongly recommend a visit.